Former president of Mexico Vicente Fox talks Trump, NAFTA and leadership

By Robbie Sequeira, Staff Writer rsequeira@amestrib.com

Thursday

Apr 18, 2019 at 3:44 PMApr 18, 2019 at 9:40 PM

CORRECTION: This edition corrects the estimated attendance number in the second paragraph.

Hours before his lecture at Stephens Auditorium at Iowa State University, former Mexican President Vicente Fox sat down with the Ames Tribune Thursday and touched on a bevy of topics ranging from global leadership to President Donald Trump's push for a border wall.

In his speech to an auditorium of roughly 500, Fox discussed the importance of education, and the importance of immigrant and migrant families to the United States.

“Like a mouse, he was caught in a trap of his own rhetoric,” Fox said. “He proposed … that he was going to take back the jobs that he said Mexico had taken way. That's a lie. He lied to American people in thinking that the United States could remain competitive in manufacturing and or being competitive in exploiting carbon mines, and those were lies.”

Fox, president of Mexico from 2000-2006, has long been a staunch opponent against Trump's billion-dollar proposal for the increased construction and fortification of a wall on the Mexico–United States border.

The Mexico City native acknowledged that there's been a reversal of immigration trends recently, with more Mexican citizens who emigrated to the U.S. returning south of the border, and dismissed the idea of Trump's border wall.

“The idea of the wall? (Trump) based it on fake news, on lies,because it's not that many (immigrants) coming over, and it's not Mexicans who are coming over,” Fox said. “Mexicans are reversing the trend, there are more coming back. So, he decided to attract his mass of followers to the idea of a wall, which is absolutely stupid. And it's stupid to think that Mexico is paying for that wall.”

Any solutions to perceived problems of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Fox, lies at the source of the problem — inequity in Central America.

“The solution to immigration and the problems around the border is not building a wall,” said Fox. “It's going to the source of the problem, going to Central America and developing economic opportunities for Central Americans.”

Referring to his intergovernmental work with former President George W. Bush and other world leaders during his presidency, Fox said that world leaders from Central American countries should sit down with Trump to find job and wealth creation in Central America.

Partnerships and pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which could potentially be replaced by Trump's United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), are one of the ways world leaders can thrive, according to Fox.

NAFTA is a three-country accord negotiated by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States that was set into motion in January 1994 and has boosted U.S. economic growth by as much as 0.5 percent a year.

The sectors that benefited the most under NAFTA were agriculture, automobiles, and services, and U.S. farm exports to Canada and Mexico quadrupled from $11 billion in 1993 to $43 billion in 2016.

One of the major accomplishments during Fox's six-year term as president of Mexico was reducing poverty from 43.7 percent in 2000 to 35.6 percent in 2006, and to Fox, the answer to “how” is to create wealth.

“This means investment, this means jobs,” he said. “(Secondly), you distribute that wealth through social programs. We promoted investment all over the world, we promoted NAFTA, we promoted and attracted the right investment from U.S. global and 500 corporations.”

The product of a farming family, Fox professed his excitement for his visits to the Midwestern United States, and he spoke on the challenges facing rural areas across the globe.

He said the trend of residents leaving rural areas for metropolitan areas is irreversible due to the vast opportunities available in urban areas.

However, Fox said there are two areas of focus that can enhance the quality-of-life for residents who are committed to staying in their rural environment.

“I think it's two-fold,” Fox said. “One is through education and the other is developing new ways of farming and cattle ranching through technology and innovation.”

Fox touts the importance of education, saying, “education is for life,” and that an education can help give people a competitive edge no matter their surroundings.

It's been 12 years since the 76-year-old Fox held a public office, but he shared his thoughts on the current landscape of leadership throughout the world.

“There are leaders like Trump that look backwards and want things to be like they were 100 years ago and want nationalism to prevail and want isolation,” Fox said. “The other side is one who looks toward the future and moves along with globalization, competitiveness, innovation.”

Fox said there also a schism between leadership that relies on selfishness and arrogance, and leaders that rely on compassion and inclusiveness, and that the latter is transcendent and can make substantial long-term changes for the world.

About 150 people attended Fox's lecture Thursday evening, where he touched on many of the same topics he discussed earlier in the day.

In his a post-presidential life, Fox who continues to maintain a presence in both Mexico and U.S., said many of the world's issues can be solved through pragmatism.

“The main challenge is getting rid of wrong leadership and getting rid of false prophets who think they can save the world,” Fox said during the morning session. “Get leaders who can solve healthcare problems, job problems, and economy problems. People don't accept idealism, conservatism or liberalism anymore . People believe in leaders who are ethical and have strong moral standards.”

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